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By David Cooper
ESPN.com
http://log.go.com/log?srvc=sz&guid=...ileespn.com?campaign=mobile&source=insider_ah
Regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter for much of his career, Roy Jones Jr. made his way to Bristol, Conn., to appear as guest analyst on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights." ESPN.com managed to catch up to Jones, which wasn't easy. When we did, it was on.
Here's how it went down:
Round 1
ESPN.com: Of the four weight classes of which you've been champion (middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, heavyweight), which is your favorite and why?
Roy Jones Jr.: 168 [super middleweight] was my favorite because it was the most comfortable for my body size and frame. I was best suited for that weight. James Toney was the most memorable fight [in 1994], because that was my biggest statement to the world. [Also] Vinny Pazienza came back from a broken neck. I didn't want to fight him [back in 1995] ... but I had to do it because it made the most sense for me and him. And it made history. It was the first time CompuBox figures said that I won an entire round and didn't get hit, the fourth round. [Jones won in six.]
Round 2
ESPN.com: Who have been your three most difficult opponents? Why were they the most difficult to fight?
Roy Jones Jr. [ranking them]:
1. Glen Johnson took a lickin' and kept on tickin' no matter how hard you hit him.
2. Antonio Tarver, because the was so tall and lanky and he was a southpaw.
3. James Toney, because he was so difficult to hit.
Round 3
ESPN.com: The great fighters of different eras -- Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali, for example -- all seemed to have a sense of their own historical significance. Do you believe that today's superior boxers have the same level of self-awareness?
Jones: No, I don't think they do. Because today's fighters have to get old to understand. Every fight is not always about money ... I was ready to fight anyone. I fought Antonio Tarver three times and was ready to fighting him three more times. For me, I don't care who it is, if someone wants to fight, I'll fight him. Especially if he beat me. I'll want to fight him again.
Round 4
ESPN.com: Over the past two decades, the marquee matchups in boxing have shifted away from the heavyweight division to lighter weight classes. Do you think that the heavyweight division will return to its status of undisputed dominance, or has the talent and the fan interest moved permanently to the lower weight classes?
Jones: The heavyweight division will return. There's no worry. But right now the lower weight classes have more names. Lennox [Lewis] left, [Mike] Tyson left, [Evander] Holyfield backed down a bit.
Round 5
ESPN.com: Contemporary boxing has been criticized for over-the-top pre-fight promotion. For example, during a press conference on Tuesday, former world champion Oscar De La Hoya nearly came to blows with WBC junior middleweight champion Ricardo Mayorga, after Mayorga cursed at De La Hoya. In your opinion, does this type of behavior send the wrong message about boxing? Or is this type of spectacle necessary to attract the attention of fans who are being bombarded by messages from other sporting events?
Jones: It ain't necessary, but it reminds fans that it is what it is. To most people it's a battle. It's not like football. Fighters do what they have to do. People have to understand that.
Round 6
ESPN.com: Last weekend in Las Vegas, "Sugar" Shane Mosley knocked out Fernando Vargas in their junior middleweight bout. Were there any special things that caught your eye in Mosley's victory?
Jones: What caught my eye was that Vargas looked better than I thought he would. Mosley was the better fighter that night. Had [Vargas'] eye not swelled up that early, it might have been a different fight.
[FONT=Times,serif][/FONT]
Round 7
ESPN.com: Jeff Lacy and Joe Calzaghe will put their super middleweight belts up for a unification bout Saturday night in England. Give us your assessment as to how these two boxers differ. Given their differences, who do you believe will win and why?
Jones: Calzaghe's a boxer, Lacy's a puncher. Lacy's younger, has a big punch, and will have to knock him out. Calzaghe is a boxer who can last 12 rounds. How it will play out, I could not say.
ESPN.com: Who is better suited to win?
Jones: Calzaghe is best suited to win this one.
Round 8
ESPN.com: On June 10 in Atlantic City, former middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins challenges current champ Antonio Tarver. Complete the following:
For Hopkins to defeat Tarver, he must ...
Jones: Keep the pressure on for 12 rounds.
ESPN.com: For Tarver to defeat Hopkins, he must ...
Jones: Use his lanky range, keep him on the outside and use his right jab.
Round 9
ESPN.com: Your style of boxing has been noteworthy for its power and grace. At the end of your career, what is the one thing you want to be remembered for?
Jones: I'm a great humanitarian. I care more about the life and health of other people than I do [about] myself.
ESPN.com: And as a boxer?
Jones: As one of the best pound-for-pound fighters that ever did it would be good enough for me.
David Cooper is ESPN.com's boxing editor.
Link
ESPN.com
http://log.go.com/log?srvc=sz&guid=...ileespn.com?campaign=mobile&source=insider_ah
Regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter for much of his career, Roy Jones Jr. made his way to Bristol, Conn., to appear as guest analyst on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights." ESPN.com managed to catch up to Jones, which wasn't easy. When we did, it was on.
Here's how it went down:
Round 1
ESPN.com: Of the four weight classes of which you've been champion (middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, heavyweight), which is your favorite and why?
Roy Jones Jr.: 168 [super middleweight] was my favorite because it was the most comfortable for my body size and frame. I was best suited for that weight. James Toney was the most memorable fight [in 1994], because that was my biggest statement to the world. [Also] Vinny Pazienza came back from a broken neck. I didn't want to fight him [back in 1995] ... but I had to do it because it made the most sense for me and him. And it made history. It was the first time CompuBox figures said that I won an entire round and didn't get hit, the fourth round. [Jones won in six.]
Round 2
ESPN.com: Who have been your three most difficult opponents? Why were they the most difficult to fight?
Roy Jones Jr. [ranking them]:
1. Glen Johnson took a lickin' and kept on tickin' no matter how hard you hit him.
2. Antonio Tarver, because the was so tall and lanky and he was a southpaw.
3. James Toney, because he was so difficult to hit.
Round 3
ESPN.com: The great fighters of different eras -- Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali, for example -- all seemed to have a sense of their own historical significance. Do you believe that today's superior boxers have the same level of self-awareness?
Jones: No, I don't think they do. Because today's fighters have to get old to understand. Every fight is not always about money ... I was ready to fight anyone. I fought Antonio Tarver three times and was ready to fighting him three more times. For me, I don't care who it is, if someone wants to fight, I'll fight him. Especially if he beat me. I'll want to fight him again.
Round 4
ESPN.com: Over the past two decades, the marquee matchups in boxing have shifted away from the heavyweight division to lighter weight classes. Do you think that the heavyweight division will return to its status of undisputed dominance, or has the talent and the fan interest moved permanently to the lower weight classes?
Jones: The heavyweight division will return. There's no worry. But right now the lower weight classes have more names. Lennox [Lewis] left, [Mike] Tyson left, [Evander] Holyfield backed down a bit.
Round 5
ESPN.com: Contemporary boxing has been criticized for over-the-top pre-fight promotion. For example, during a press conference on Tuesday, former world champion Oscar De La Hoya nearly came to blows with WBC junior middleweight champion Ricardo Mayorga, after Mayorga cursed at De La Hoya. In your opinion, does this type of behavior send the wrong message about boxing? Or is this type of spectacle necessary to attract the attention of fans who are being bombarded by messages from other sporting events?
Jones: It ain't necessary, but it reminds fans that it is what it is. To most people it's a battle. It's not like football. Fighters do what they have to do. People have to understand that.
Round 6
ESPN.com: Last weekend in Las Vegas, "Sugar" Shane Mosley knocked out Fernando Vargas in their junior middleweight bout. Were there any special things that caught your eye in Mosley's victory?
Jones: What caught my eye was that Vargas looked better than I thought he would. Mosley was the better fighter that night. Had [Vargas'] eye not swelled up that early, it might have been a different fight.
[FONT=Times,serif][/FONT]
Round 7
ESPN.com: Jeff Lacy and Joe Calzaghe will put their super middleweight belts up for a unification bout Saturday night in England. Give us your assessment as to how these two boxers differ. Given their differences, who do you believe will win and why?
Jones: Calzaghe's a boxer, Lacy's a puncher. Lacy's younger, has a big punch, and will have to knock him out. Calzaghe is a boxer who can last 12 rounds. How it will play out, I could not say.
ESPN.com: Who is better suited to win?
Jones: Calzaghe is best suited to win this one.
Round 8
ESPN.com: On June 10 in Atlantic City, former middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins challenges current champ Antonio Tarver. Complete the following:
For Hopkins to defeat Tarver, he must ...
Jones: Keep the pressure on for 12 rounds.
ESPN.com: For Tarver to defeat Hopkins, he must ...
Jones: Use his lanky range, keep him on the outside and use his right jab.
Round 9
ESPN.com: Your style of boxing has been noteworthy for its power and grace. At the end of your career, what is the one thing you want to be remembered for?
Jones: I'm a great humanitarian. I care more about the life and health of other people than I do [about] myself.
ESPN.com: And as a boxer?
Jones: As one of the best pound-for-pound fighters that ever did it would be good enough for me.
David Cooper is ESPN.com's boxing editor.
Link
